Hourglass Heart
A free anime story game in your browser. The great bell of Solmere has stopped, and the whole city has turned to glass, except for one late courier with an hourglass in her heart. Turn back time, run along walls, fight with twin blades, transform into Dawnblaze and reach the top of the great clock in five narrated chapters. No download, no signup.
Hourglass Heart
A story in five chapters · turn back time · transform · works on phones
The story so far
Solmere clings to its cliffs above a sea of golden mist: a city of a thousand bells. Every dusk the Sun Bell rings to send the day home. One evening it stops in the middle of its swing, the sky cracks, and every soul in the market turns to glass.
Every soul but Kaia, a bell-keeper's apprentice who would rather run the rooftops with letters than polish bronze. A little hourglass of light settles in her chest, and its sand can run backwards. Old Odran, the last bell-keeper, tells her tale by candlelight, from the stopped market to the clockwork bridges where the royal Clockwright, Veyl, first calls down to her.
What waits beyond the bridges, you will have to see for yourself.
Five chapters
1. The Stopped Hour
The bell market rooftops
2. The Clockwork Bridges
Over the golden mist · Stillness wakes
3. The Garden of Glass
The stilled court · the Heart’s fire wakes
4. The Hall of Echoes
Veyl’s gallery of moments
5. The Crown of the Clock
The top of the great clock
Turning back time
Hold rewind and the whole world plays backwards for up to 9 seconds: Kaia, every enemy, the arrows in the air, the planks that crumbled under her and the swing of every blade trap. Let go, and time runs forward again from that moment. Each rewind costs one charge of sand from the Hourglass Heart. You start each chapter with 3 and can hold 5; enemies drop sand motes, and every lantern you relight gives one back.
When a blow or a fall would end the story, time slows to a crawl and you have 3 seconds to rewind. Out of sand, Odran picks up the tale at the last lantern.
Stillness and Dawnblaze
Stillness (from chapter 2) spends one charge of sand to slow every enemy, arrow and trap for 4.5 seconds while you move at full speed.
Dawnblaze(from chapter 3) is Kaia's transformation. Landing hits fills the Heart meter; when it is full, her hair turns white-gold, a halo of clock hands spins behind her and for 15 seconds her blades burn: 80% more damage, much less damage taken, a dash that scorches anything it passes through, and a glide when you hold jump in the air.
How to play
| Move | Keyboard and mouse | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Move | W A S D | Left stick |
| Look | Mouse (click the game first) | Drag the right side |
| Jump / double jump | Space, twice | JUMP, twice |
| Wall-run | Jump at a gold-trimmed wall and hold W; Space to leap off | Jump at a gold-trimmed wall and keep running |
| Twin-blade combo | Left click or J, up to four times | STRIKE, up to four times |
| Air slashes | Click in the air | Tap STRIKE in the air |
| Plunge | Hold click or J in the air | Hold STRIKE in the air |
| Dash · dash strike | Right click, Shift or C · strike right after | The dash button · STRIKE right after |
| Rewind time | Hold R | Hold REWIND |
| Stillness | Q | STILL |
| Dawnblaze | F when the Heart is full | BLAZE |
Tips
- Red circles, lines and cones on the ground show where a blow is about to land: dash through it or step out.
- Count the swing of a pendulum blade, not the blade itself. If you misjudge it, rewind a few seconds and try again.
- Glass Archers aim along a red line before they shoot. Dash through the arrow, or cut it out of the air with your blades.
- Brass Sentinels block blows to their shield. Get behind them, or break the guard with a dash strike, the fourth hit of your combo or a plunge.
- Cracked planks fall a moment after you land on them, so keep moving.
- Every rewind and every defeat costs a little score. A clean run with a high combo scores best.
Questions
Is Hourglass Heart free?
Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no download, no account and no app. Your chapters, checkpoints and best scores are saved on your device.
How does rewinding time work?
Hold R (or the REWIND button) and the whole world plays backwards for up to nine seconds: Kaia, the enemies, arrows in the air, crumbling planks and the traps. Let go and time runs forward from there. Each rewind spends one charge of sand from the Hourglass Heart; enemies and the motes along the way give sand back. If a blow or a fall would end the story, time slows and you get three seconds to rewind.
How do I transform?
From chapter 3, every hit you land fills the Heart meter. When it is full, press F (or BLAZE) to become Dawnblaze for fifteen seconds: Kaia hits harder with burning blades, takes far less damage, her dash scorches enemies and she can glide by holding jump.
How long is the story?
Five chapters, each about five to ten minutes, with narrated story scenes before every chapter and an ending after the last boss. You can replay any chapter you have reached to beat your score.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. On a phone you get a movement stick on the left, drag on the right to look, and buttons for jump, strike, dash, rewind, Stillness and Dawnblaze. Turn the phone sideways for the best view.
Is Hourglass Heart based on an anime or another game?
No. Kaia, Odran, Veyl, the city of Solmere and the story are original to AnimeQuiz. Turning back time and transforming are ideas many games share; the world and everyone in it are our own.
More free games
Hunt demons across an open-world town in Lantern Blade, race three levels in Ninja Run 3D, or see every mini game and all the anime games on AnimeQuiz.